Tuesday, January 29, 2013

sun-clouds-sun... (pm.29.jan.13)>

Tuesday's stats:

Early morning low temp: 45.1F (7.3C)
Afternoon high temp: 55.9F (13.3C)
Rainfall: none

There are more high clouds appearing on the western horizon at sunset this evening, otherwise skies are mostly clear at the moment.  We had a period of high overcast around mid-day, but there was enough sunshine both before and after to boost us up into the comfort zone for yet another day.  These temps remain well above normal for the end of January.

Weak ridges of high pressure continue to alternate with similarly weak troughs of low pressure on our west-to-east flow aloft, and that has kept us fluctuating between sun and high clouds since Sunday.  It looks like more mainly high cloudiness is on the way later tonight and Wednesday, in advance of our next upper-level disturbance which will move through on Thursday.  Rain chances will remain minimal, but there could be one or two fleeting sprinkles or light showers as this system moves through.

Finally, it appears we may be seeing confirmation of the development of a more substantial storm system by the latter part of the weekend.  Computer models are now showing a very broad, deep, and slow-moving area of low pressure over Afghanistan and Pakistan by Sunday, which looks like it will remain quite strong as it moves through northern India early next week.  There should be plenty of moisture available for this system to work with, but mild temperatures should keep precipitation in the form of rain, at least initially, in the immediate McLeod area.  Lots of time to watch how all of this evolves during the coming several days.

TUESDAY NIGHT:
mostly clear early, with increasing clouds again late.  mild temps.
low: 7C (45F)

WEDNESDAY:
both sun and periods of mainly high clouds.  unseasonably mild.
high: 14C (57F)

WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
partly to mostly cloudy.  one or two light rain showers?
low: 8C (46F)

THURSDAY:
risk of a few sprinkles or a light rain shower, otherwise partly cloudy to mostly cloudy at times.
high: 13C (56F)

FRIDAY:
a mix of clouds and sun.  mild start to february.
morning low: 7C (45F)
daytime high: 13C (56F)

SATURDAY:
partly cloudy.  chance of one or two light rain showers PM.
morning low: 7C (45F)
daytime high: 13C (56F)

SUNDAY:
becoming mostly cloudy and turning cooler.  better chance of a few periods of rain.
morning low: 8C (46F)
daytime high: 12C (53F)